Sunday, August 31, 2014

Quick autograph for your eyes this fine day. Outfielder for the Big Red Machine during their back-to-back World Series campaign. 5-time All Star. MVP in 1977 with and absurd stat line of 52 homers, 149 RBI, .320 BA, and .631 SLG. Elected to the Reds Hall of Fame in 2003. "Integrated" the bat rack in the 70's with his black bat. Some of the best sideburns in the biz.

Yet I picked up this autographed card for only $2.99 + free shipping. Noice.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

We've reached the Round of 32 in the Red Cardboard Ugstavaganza. Only the purest of the heinous remain. Get excited. Your gorgeous auto refractors and your gem mint vintage have no place here. Exute, fanciful relics and serials! We've only time for grotesqueries!

Here be the first half of the match-ups. Vote for the ugliest. Voting ends Wednesday at noon eastern.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

What? Boring old Topps base set? I mean, the Don Gullett is an RC, but come on. How do you not already have these, Red Cardboard?

More? I mean, the '65 is nice. And ain't nuthin' wrong with some Big Red Machine. But again, you must already have these, big fella.

Ah! There it is. Good ol' O-Pee-Chee up in your grill. Even a 1965 OPC, their first year changing the byline on the Topps cards. It was fun hunting down all the vintage Topps Reds the past couple years, but I'm basically down to short prints and super-expensive cards ('57 Frank Robinson RC, anyone?). The OPC sets have rekindled my vintage cockles.

2013 Bowman Sterling Prospects Auto Kevin Franklin. 2013 spent with the Reds Arizona Rookie League team. 2014 spent with the Billings Mustangs (still Rookie League). It'll be a while before we see if Franklin is anything.

2010 Bowman Sterling Future Stars Auto Yasmani Grandal. Joined the Reds organization in 2010 and made it to AAA by 2011. He was then part of the deal that got Mat Latos over from the Padres. He's currently in his third major league season for the them.

2013 Bowman Sterling Prospects Auto Michael Lorenzen. Lorenzen was a 2013 lst round pick by the Reds. He's been blasting through our system, making the AA Pensacola roster his first year and dropping his ERA this year over a point with them. He'll be a big leaguer very soon.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

That is to say, I made a meager purchase from COMC a bit ago. And I scanned the cards. And here are half of em.

1964 Topps Pete Rose. I already gave this card its due with its own post. But it was part of the mailday, so you are privileged enough to see it again.

1977 Burger Chef Discs Ken Griffey, Dan Driessen. These are much smaller than the 70's discs I'm used to; only two and a half inches across or so. We all know the backs are more interesting than the fronts, so here ya go...

Come on, Burgerini. Get it together, man.

1972 Topps Julian Javier. This is one of them high-number cards. #745, to be precise. Sweet.

What's that? An early 40's card of a an NL MVP and a Reds Hall of Famer? Yes, please.

The set: Play Ball produced cards from 1939-1941, stopped during WWII, then came back in 1948, re-christened as Bowman. This is the only of the three sets in color, but were basically paint-by-number versions of the 1940 black-and-white photo releases. The mere 72 card set contains four Reds, this being my first.

The player: Frank "Buck" McCormick played ten of his thirteen big-league seasons for the Reds. He was a member of eight All-Star teams, two World Series teams (including the winning 1940 Reds squad) and was the National League MVP in 1940, beating out Johnny Mize. Fun fact: the 1940 NL MVP voting included three Reds in the top four, five in the top ten, and six overall. Not a bad year in Cincy, boy I tell ya. McCormick also once held the record for consecutive error-free games at first base with 131 and remains the last National League player to lead the league in hits for three straight years. He was a part of the Reds Hall of Fame's inaugural class of 1958.